I bought my T60 certified used from IBM over a year ago. I added ram (crucial) and kept the defunct/broken battery it came with since it almost never leaves it's spot, in addition to a larger hdd. I've run GNU/Linux on it the whole time.

A couple months ago the fan was obviously failing, so bought a replacement on ebay. It was obviously a chinese fan but it works fine. It fit fine and runs fine. I'm essentially A+ certified (straight As in prep courses just haven't taken proctored exam) and have performed the upgrade responsibly. While I was at it I replaced the thermal putty and the cpu paste with artic silver. I thought I was good to go.

So this problem still persists. I'm getting random freezes. At first I thought it was the battery. Research suggested that people have ruled this out. Tried it anyway. Running off AC I got the freeze. I thought it was Debian's fault. Nope. Tons of Windows users with the same problem. Did sensor checks and log checks. Thank god my beloved Debian stable is not to blame. memtest86 seemed fine.

I have still yet to find any reliable solution. I've done every thing I can besides updating the BIOS and checking for any sort of ROM firmware updates from Lenovo. Insert non-productive expletive frustrations here...

Does anyone have any recommendations? The warranty is over and I need a machine that can handle compilation, HTML5/Flash, and other high intensity tasks without freezing.

Welcome to the forum.Before beginning with suggestions, what is the exact type of your machine?There's a sticker on the bottom that looks like:TYPE 2007-CTO S/N L3-12345 06/08PRODUCTID 200746UWhat does it say on yours? (we don't need the S/N).

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Welcome to the forum!What you describe is more common than it should be. All the "proper" CPU thermal paste, etc., will not mitigate the issue with thermal pads which are not right. I have seen the issue you describe multiple times, and the only reliable solution is to use a brand new heatsink/fan assembly with brand new pads.

There should be no "magic" around this matter, yet using a new heatsink/fan with pre-mounted thermal pads seems to solve the problem reliably every time, whereas re-working the existing heatsink/fan assembly yields unreliable results no matter how well and how carefully one prepares it.

You say you bought an eBay fan. If you bought just the fan, then indeed you have to also replace the heatsink assembly. If you bought a full assembly, and if it was used rather than new, then there you have it ... replace with a new assembly and you will discover that problem is solved.

I bought my T60 certified used from IBM over a year ago. .............................>>Does anyone have any recommendations? The warranty is over and I need a machine that can handle compilation, HTML5/Flash, and other high intensity tasks without freezing.

From Memory I think I had the SAME ISSUES on my old old T60 (2007xxx) model..... and even after major hardware replacements by IBM @ that time (bought at t60p release)......I ended up CLONING the 'factory HD > which at that time was Hitachi> .... and AWALH ! > did the trick ! > and t60 never missed a beat !

just my 0,02c worth ...........but then there are lots more 'experts' of TP here !!hope this hint is of some help !

I'm sure I did a professional job replacing said components. I bought premium thermal pads and paste and made sure things were contacted properly before finishing up. Nothing changed... At first I considered someone was targeting my system because you security folks know that some scans/payloads can freeze your system. My next guess was my OS setup. Debian seemed okay. Then I search and there are multiple threads about T60 freezing (obviously more Windows users). I know my battery was shot and some people mentioned battery firmware as an issue. Took battery out. Freeze again. Confirm battery was not the issue after several posts about removal. Multiple unsolved threads.

I suppose all I can do is take apart this apart once again. Like I said, I'm essentially A+ and I bought premium components and multiple thickness thermal pads and confirmed connection on both sides on all chips using pads before rebuilding everything. I even wore gloves and cleaned connections with a hardware cleaner, admittedly unnecessary.

Seems like every time I find some hardware I like there is some nuance which robs me of my sanity.

Oh and it's a T60 2008-N21 with upgraded 2x2GB crucial ram (straight from crucial) and an larger hdd, both self-installed.

There is no way I'm paying $40 for a new heatsink/fan assembly to replace a non-broken one, on a whim of there being insufficient proximity. The OEM thermal paste (that I replaced) was so poor anyway I have little belief that this would be beneficial. I only payed like $400 a couple years ago. You can just replace the fan. I did it and I might even have pictures.

... There is no way I'm paying $40 for a new heatsink/fan assembly to replace a non-broken one ...

Non-broken does not imply that it is good! I bet you have FRU #41V9932 rather than the newer FRU #41W6407. That difference alone is sufficient to run the machine up to the edge of performance for the 41V9932 part. You would be well-served to use 41W6407. See below:

To beat a dead horse some more:Perhaps you know that heat pipes are more than copper metal, and that it is unlikely that one can tell visually if a heat pipe is operating as a heat pipe rather than a dumb metal conductor, i.e., it is not obvious that the part is, as you put it, "non-broken".http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pipe

One thing which just crossed my mind was whether you (the OP) have thoroughly tested your RAM? Although it is high-quality Crucial it might (?) potentially be seated slightly loose (?), or it may have the connectors slightly dirty... which could have some impact on the overall stability. I once had a T60 very similar to yours that had a dirty RAM-block (dirty connectors). After carefully cleaning the freezing-issue went away! I know from another event that a loose stick of RAM could cause the same behaviour. Consider getting the free RAM-tool test-SW Memtest86+ and allow it to run for several hours.